COBRA Alternatives in Wyoming (2026)

Your options after leaving a job in Wyoming

If you leave a job in Wyoming, start by finding out whether your employer's plan falls under federal COBRA or under Wyoming's own continuation law. Federal COBRA usually lasts 18 months. If the plan is not subject to COBRA, Wyoming law gives you up to 12 months of continued group coverage, as long as you were covered for the 3 months before it ended.

Under the state law you must ask in writing and pay the first premium within 31 days, and you can be charged up to 102% of the full group rate. That is often far more than you paid as an employee, because your employer's share goes away. State continuation can also end early if your former employer drops its group plan.

Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period for Marketplace plans, and you can apply up to 60 days before the coverage ends. If you pick COBRA or state continuation and later drop it on your own, that does not open a new window, so compare costs before you decide. With only two Marketplace insurers in Wyoming, check that your doctors are in network.

If your income has dropped sharply, check Medicaid too, but know its limits here. Wyoming has not expanded Medicaid, so non-disabled adults without children do not qualify, and parents qualify only at very low incomes.

How federal COBRA works

Federal COBRA lets you keep your former employer’s group plan if the employer had 20 or more employees. Coverage usually lasts up to 18 months, and you can be charged the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee, because your employer stops paying its share.

You generally have 60 days from your election notice to choose COBRA. Coverage is retroactive, so some people wait and only elect it if they need care during that window. Talk to an agent before relying on that, because missing the deadline ends the option.

Wyoming state continuation (Wyo. Stat. 26-19-113)

If your employer's plan is too small for federal COBRA, Wyoming law lets you keep the same group medical coverage for up to 12 months. You must ask in writing and pay the first premium within 31 days, and the cost can be up to 102% of the full group rate. It is shorter than federal COBRA (usually 18 months), ends early if the employer drops the group plan, and does not have to include dental or vision.

• Who it covers: Insured group health policies that are not subject to federal COBRA, which usually means smaller employers. You must have been continuously covered under the group plan for the 3 months before your coverage ended, and you cannot be on Medicare or another group plan.
• How long: Up to 12 months

Marketplace plans and your special enrollment period

Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, so you don’t have to wait for open enrollment. In Wyoming, HealthCare.gov is the federal government’s official marketplace for Wyoming. We’re an independent, licensed insurance agency, not part of HealthCare.gov or any government agency, and we can help you compare Marketplace plans and enroll. Wyoming uses the federal Marketplace and has no state-run exchange. To have coverage start January 1, 2027, pick a plan by December 15, 2026; a 2025 federal rule that would have shortened open enrollment was struck down in court in June 2026 and is under appeal.

Marketplace premiums are based on your expected income for the year, not last year’s. If you’re between jobs, a lower income estimate can mean a much larger premium tax credit. The enhanced federal premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025 and were not extended. For 2026, the subsidy cliff is back: if your household income is above 400% of the federal poverty level, you get no premium tax credit at all. Most Wyoming Marketplace enrollees still qualify for help, and cost-sharing reductions remain for incomes up to 250% of poverty.

If your income dropped

Wyoming has not expanded Medicaid. Non-disabled adults without children do not qualify at any income level, and parents or caretaker relatives qualify only at very low incomes (roughly 46% of the poverty level or less, based on an old state standard). Pregnant women, children, and people with disabilities have separate, higher limits.

If you are a non-disabled adult without children and your income is below 100% of the federal poverty level ($15,960 for one person in 2026 guidelines), you fall into a coverage gap: too poor for Marketplace premium tax credits and not eligible for Medicaid. Parents earning between about 47% and 99% of poverty are in the same gap.

What coverage costs